Users voiced their fears over the possible outcomes of a Trump presidency
After news spread that Donald Trump had been elected as the next president of the United States, people across the world took to social media to broadcast their reactions.
While Trump supporters shared their joy for the outcome, those who did not support Trump expressed fear and sadness.
Throughout his campaign, Trump made derogatory comments towards Muslims, Mexicans, and women. His promises of building a wall between America and Mexico fueled fear, while Mike Pence’s role as Trump’s running mate carried negative implications for the American LGBTQ+ community due to his belief in conversion therapy, which often uses electrotherapy in its bid to “cure” homosexuality.
Trump also consistently stated that he would take actions towards the Muslim community in an effort to fight against terrorism, including barring their entry into the country. Muslim Twitter users gave insight into some of the conversations they began to have with their families following the election, with several users expressing fear of wearing the hijab in public given the results.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community voiced their fears about Pence and expressed concern that his opposing stance on LGBTQ+ rights could influence marriage equality in the United States, which was legalized nationwide in 2015.
The online response to the election is similar to those following Brexit this past summer. When the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the European Union based on a platform that was for the most part anti-immigration, stories of hate crimes spread on social media.
Similarly, in the days following the election results, examples of racial discrimination were posted online. Although one incident where a woman claimed that a group of men tried to rip off her hijab was proven to be false, other minorities have posted video proof of the actions being taken against them. In one video, middle school students are shown chanting, “Build the wall,” a popular slogan Trump used during his campaign.
As those who were happy with the outcome clashed with those who were not, threads of tweets documented the divide in America. Some reduced the concerns of those against Trump to being sore losers, while those opposed to Trump presented the experiences they have had with racism, sexism, and hatred following the election. After a few days of silence, Trump addressed his opponents on his own Twitter account. He called the outrage “unfair” and said that the protestors were “incited by the liberal media.”
A tweet from the @realDonaldTrump account read:
As the initial shock of the election began to fade, messages of hope and togetherness came forward.
The call for continued action and support for those in fear of what a Trump presidency may bring has been strong. Social media managed to capture the initial reactions to the outcome of the election, and will continue to mark the progression of movements that will follow.
Photo courtesy of Gage-Skidmore_CC-BY-SA-2.0.